


All the King's Horses, All the King's Men

by Kait_darling



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: DeStorm deserves better, Grief/Mourning, Season 4 Episode 4, alex mourns a friend, emotional vulerability, grab your tissues now guys gals and nb pals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-19 23:58:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19982698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kait_darling/pseuds/Kait_darling
Summary: … Couldn't put Alex together again.





	All the King's Horses, All the King's Men

**Author's Note:**

> what is UP everybody, my name's Kait and I decided to write ETN fanfic purely out of spite for the canon aftermath of DeStorm's sacrifice. Enjoy the angst!

“Alex! You guys, they’re back!”

“So much just happened-” Alex begins breathlessly, adrenaline and relief coursing through his veins. _I survived, I survived, I survived,_ his internal monologue chants. He’s high on energy, his heart pounds in his chest as his brain rapidly processes what just happened. 

… _Wait, what just happened?_

“What happened to DeStorm?” Joey demands, concern etching itself into the lines of his features. 

The look itself makes Alex pause. His pounding heart rate slows. He tries to think clearly, and can’t. The proud smile of a challenge winner fades into the furrow of brows and pursed lips. Still, his brain struggles to process everything that went down in a matter of minutes. 

They’re dead.

_DeStorm’s_ dead. 

_Well, technically they were all_ already _dead, but now they’re like._ Dead _dead._

“Alex?” Joey prompts. 

“DeStorm… DeStorm’s dead. So are the Emperor, and his… His mom, did you say she was?” He asks, unable to recall how he got that information. When he speaks again, his voice changes. It’s more hollow, now, as he blinks rapidly to play the movie memory on the back of his eyelids. Swords. Colorful, charging rebels in disguise. Blood. DeStorm’s cold and determined expression. The flash of fear on his face, the tension in his shoulders, before it disappears. All at once, like the light from his eyes. “They’re all dead.” 

Suddenly, everyone’s talking. Gabbie’s voice, reaching a fever pitch, overpowers the others. They’re asking for answers, for explanations, for something more than what little information Alex had given them. But he couldn’t. Not when DeStorm’s final words echo through his mind like a shout through a storm drain. So distant, yet his message had been clear. 

“You know what? I play by my own rules. This is for Lauren.”

_This is for Lauren._

“He cheated. He- He sacrificed himself. For Lauren.” Alex mutters, his voice so quiet that the group nearly misses what he says. “That’s what he said. He said that this--his death--was for Lauren.”

The shouting and inquires cease. No one was expecting that. 

Alex makes his way around the couch, and plops into an open armchair. The other contestants stop and stare at him, waiting, waiting for more information.

Alex rubs his face, as though trying to remove the look of shock as he comes to terms with what he said. DeStorm--DeStorm Power, of all people--sacrificed himself so that Alex could survive the challenge. Why?

“We were, um- We had to play this strategy game, where we stepped onto tiles and tried to be the last one standing-”

“The tiles they’d already used were turned over, and blacked out, so they couldn’t be used again.” Ro chimes in as further explanation, her face coloring when Alex looks up at her. “Sorry, sorry, go ahead.”

“Yeah. I- I had nine tiles left, he had ten. He should’ve- He should’ve beaten me, fair and square.” Alex doesn’t realize the pun until no one laughs. “But he cheated. We were only supposed to- We were only allowed to move to the side, front, or behind us. Never diagonally. But he did. I just- I don’t understand why-” Alex’s breath caught in his throat. Tears spring to his eyes, and his heart clenches painfully in his chest. He knows why. 

The guilt on DeStorm’s face when he brought up Lauren. It was so subtle, but so there. He still felt guilty, even after all this time, about being the reason behind her death. Is it because of Alex? Is it because-

_… Is it because he started to care about me?_

The realization smacks Alex between the eyes. Even though their alliance was short lived, Alex’s trust was in DeStorm, and somehow, Alex knew that DeStorm had put his trust in him, too. But why? Why, why, _why-_

“Alex?” Colleen’s voice permeates his thoughts, and he looks up. Colleen’s voice is gentle, and cushiony, as though she expects him to break the second someone raises their voice. Maybe he will. 

“I should’ve lost.” He says, wiping away the tears that have been rolling freely down his cheeks. “I should’ve lost, I shouldn’t be- He shouldn’t be-”

“Alex, it’s okay, it’s gonna be alright,” Tana says reassuringly, taking a seat on the arm of the chair. She starts rubbing his back, keeping her touch light in case she needs to pull away. “It’s okay. He obviously wanted you to survive the challenge for a reason-”

“Well maybe his reason isn’t good enough!” Alex shouts, his face screwing up in anger. He sniffles loudly, and Tana pulls her hand away. 

The room goes silent once more. 

“I’m sorry, I’m-” Alex’s voice cracks. “I’m sorry, God, I’m so, _so_ sorry-” 

“It’s okay, Alex.” 

He looks up, and sees that it’s Gabbie who’s speaking. Her voice is low, and strained, her eyes red from crying. Everyone else is looking between the two of them. Waiting. 

“It’s not okay.” 

Another pause. She takes a deep breath.

“Maybe it’s not. But I forgive you.” 

Gabbie walks up to Alex, and holds out her arms for a hug. She looks as fragile as he feels, and needs the hug even more. Alex stands, sniffling still, and embraces her. They hold each other tightly, and try to match each other’s breathing, to calm the other down. They embrace for no more than a minute, though Alex feels as though the hug lasts a lifetime. He feels several teardrops hit the thin material of his shirt, and his hand comes up to rub Gabbie’s back. She sniffles, too, and his heart clenches once more.

She pulls away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. It comes away streaked with mascara, and she lets out a hollow laugh before licking her lips. “Well, that was a waste of mascara.” 

Alex can't help but let the corners of his lips pull into a smile as he puts on a goofy voice. "Don’t worry, you’re still purty.” 

"Oh but honey, you _definitely_ need a makeup wipe." Tana comments, which makes everyone laugh. 

"Yeah, yeah I do." Gabbie agrees and starts laughing along with the others as she wipes her eyes again. 

A beat of silence passes as Tana grabs a handful of tissues and passes them off to Gabbie. She smiles at the Hollywood Star briefly, then she looks back at Alex. 

“You gonna be good?” Tana asks, the concern in her voice apparent. 

Alex pauses, then nods, swallowing hard. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I will be.” He takes another few breaths, and closes his eyes, then makes a silent promise to himself that he’ll remember the sacrifice that had been made. He won’t let it go to waste. Alex is determined to survive. “I mean, what other choice do I have?”

The others look between each other and nod. They know he has a point. There can only be so much time to grieve while they’re still stuck here. 

Alex looks over and sees that Ro is still holding the key in her hand. 

"Ro, would you, uh, would you like to do the honors?" 

"I sure can!" She chirps, almost too-excitedly for the tense atmosphere. She heads over to the lock mechanism and inserts the key.

Alex braces himself for all Hell to break loose.

And then, it does.


End file.
